The recent interest in contemporary architecture, particularly in connection with residential buildings, has resulted in a very substantial increase in demand for skylight assemblies, either of the fixed glazing type or of the operating or openable type. As production and installations increase in quantity, ease of manufacture, ease of installation, and cost of both manufacture and installation are important factors that must be considered in designing skylight assemblies. As with the roof itself, the leak-tight qualities of the skylight assembly are of great importance. This leakage problem is generally compounded in those skylights that open, that is, the structure including the glazing layer or layers, tilts back about a hinge on one side of the skylight. In an overall skylight construction of the openable type, the hinge or hinges can be a relatively expensive factor in overall cost. The labor in connecting the skylight hinges to the roof structure is also a factor to be considered along with the potential for leakage whenever openings are made into the basic roof structure.
Conventional leaf type hinges have been used in the prior art that are attached as independent components to the movable skylight member as well to the roof structure, with gaps between individual hinges. Assembly and disassembly of the hinge at an installation are awkward to accomplish. Specially bent hinge flanges for connection to the curb and skylight frame make the hinges relatively expensive.
What is needed is an openable skylight or hatch assembly that is economical to produce and allows for easy assembly and disassembly.